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Lelangue pledges to cooperate with investigation

BMC confident in its director

John Lelangue

(BMC Racing Team)

Andy Rihs (center) with John Lelangue and Floyd Landis after the 2006 Tour de France.

(AFP Photo)

John Lelangue will co-operate with the French Cycling Federation’s (FFC) investigation into Floyd Landis’ accusations against him, the BMC Racing Team director said in a statement. International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid revealed yesterday he had asked the relevant national federations to investigate Landis’ remarkable claims last week, in an effort to bring transparency to the matter.

"I will fully cooperate in such investigation by FFC, if any, to help the UCI and the cycling sport to show that the accusations of Mr. Landis against various persons and also me are not founded,” said Lelangue. “This may help the persons accused, including myself, and the UCI to terminate this side battle created by Mr. Landis.

“As it was stated before and through various media during the last days, Mr. Landis is placing obviously disoriented accusations deriving from his regrettable fall down as sportsman and person in creditability,” he added.

Landis claimed that he had informed Lelangue personally of his use of performance enhancing drugs while riding for Phonak in 2005 in an e-mail to USA Cycling last week that was leaked to Cyclingnews. Landis also claimed that Lance Armstrong had told him of a payment between Johan Bruyneel and the UCI to keep quiet on a positive test of Armstrong’s from the 2001 Tour de Suisse, which the UCI has responded to, saying it has a paper trail to prove there was no such positive test.

Lelangue said he’ll focus his full attention on trying to lead Cadel Evans to a Giro d’Italia victory before addressing the matters. “However, and for the time being as Mr McQuaid stated into the same direction, we - the cycling sport and myself at the BMC Racing Team - continue to currently fully attend to the spectacular racing in this year's Giro d'Italia, and as far as my person is involved, I will have time to attend afterwards to the said accusations of Mr. Landis, which are totally unfounded,” he said. “For the time being the Giro and the absolute concentration on Cadel Evans's race in our team has priority."

BMC’s Jim Ochowicz, who was also implicated in the Landis e-mail, has thrown his full support behind Lelangue. "The BMC Racing Team continues to fully support John Lelangue and is absolutely convinced that John Lelangue will help to challenge and set aside the allegations of Mr. Landis against him," said Ochowicz.